Valiant Hearts
by ShadowAngelDemon
Summary: Dark things are happening at Hogwarts...and sixth-year student Rose Saunders knows it. As her whole world begins to collapse around her, she begins to see the difference between trusting someone you know - and trusting someone you love. Please R&R!


**Hello people! **

**Ahh it's good to be in this section of Fanfiction. I've been a massive fan of Harry Potter for a LONG time, although I've gone off it the past couple months. No, I still love it, but I'm just not as dedicated as I was. **

**Anyways, before thousands of people swarm and hate on me because I said that, I got this idea when I was watching HP Part 2, I think just off a sentence Neville said. My mind works in strange ways, and I twisted it into an entire story (actually not and "entire" story, because I'm actually making it up as I go along. But I assure you, I will finish it. I have a beginning and an ending, so all I have to figure out is the middle). **

**So I guess you want to get on to the story now, don't you? Haha well not yet. I just have one more thing to request. I've seen on a couple of stories where people have songs in/at the beginning of each chapter. I think I want to try this out, and post a song or something somewhere in/at the start of each chapter. What I want from you lovely reviewer people is requests; songs you love, songs you think fit this story, etc. I think it would be fun to incorporate you and make people excited to see their song in one of the chapters. **

**So without further ado- **

**This story is set in the year that Harry leaves (his 7****th**** year), and follows a character of my own creation in her sixth year. There will also be a lot of other characters that I create, and a lot of the original characters from the book. **

**Reviews will be greatly appreciated, and constructive criticism is deeply desired. **

**Enjoy! **

**Song #1: Ever After by Marianas Trench **

_**Once upon a time  
I used to romanticize  
Used to be somebody, never mind  
I don't miss it that much now  
I think it's sinking in  
The days that I wonder where I've been  
And picture perfect porcelain  
But I won't lose a pound**_

You say I will make a better liar  
And never face the music when it's dire  
And I breathe disaster, ever after  
Don't pull away from me now

Don't you move  
Can't you stay where you are, just for now  
I could be your perfect disaster  
You could be my ever after  
You could be my ever after, after all  
I could be your perfect disaster  
You could be my ever after  


**Honestly this song is beautiful; I love it. **

**By the way, you'll probably notice an abundance of songs by Marianas Trench and OneRepublic before you start submitting songs, because I love them. **

**NOW the story starts. **

Valiant Hearts

Chapter One: Sight

"Rose!"

Rose Candelle turned around on the platform to the Hogwarts Express to see her aunt waving her back. Her throat tightened as she turned to Suzanna. "Take my trunk, will you?"

Her dark haired friend nodded, her face neatly composed. "I'll save you a seat."

Rose smiled and turned around, heading for where her aunt and uncle stood by the plastic sign proclaiming the numbers "9 3/4". Even before she started to speak, Rose could see the look of worry in her aunt's gaze.

"What is it?" She asked.

Her aunt frowned. People bustled all around them; parents with worry lines stretched on their forehead, clutching their little children's hands as if a Ministry official would come and take them away at any moment. Rose could almost sense the tension in the air, so thick that it felt like she could cut it with a knife.

Her aunt pulled her closer, and brushed a strand of her pale hair behind her ear. "Stay safe this year, okay?"

Rose hesitated for a moment. "Okay." She had a feeling that this wasn't what she wanted to tell her. She had said that same thing in the car on the way to the platform.

But still. "I'll miss you." She said, giving her uncle an awkward one-armed hug before returning the affection to her aunt.

But before she could pull back her aunt gripped her arm tightly. "Strange things are happening Rose," she heard her aunt's words in her ears. "People are disappearing every day now. Lay low and blend in. Don't trust anyone, do I make myself clear?"

Rose swallowed and nodded.

"Good," when she pulled back her aunt was smiling. "Now hurry along."

A small weight had settled in Rose's stomach when she turned back to the train, the red paint blazing with the afternoon sun. It was all she could see for a moment when she reached the door.

"Have fun!" Her aunt called.

Rose grimaced. She was only saying that as an act; playing along with the crowd.

With a sigh, she pushed the door open and stepped inside the express.

The door slammed shut behind her, cutting off the only people she knew she could trust; besides Suzanna. And speaking of Suzanna...she had saved her a seat.

Rose started to make her way down the different compartments, trying to remember where they had sat last year. Her eyes were trained on the ground, like they usually were, not making eye contact. Especially since she was going through the Slytherin compartment.

She could see little bursts of green and silver everywhere, embroidered on people's hats and trunks; a glint of a scarf. She was distracted for a moment before she bumped into someone and stumbled, her eyes breaking from the ground.

It was a boy, probably her age, with brown hair and pale skin. "Watch it," he hissed, his gray eyes narrowing.

"I-I u-um..." Rose stuttered, rooted to the spot for a second. She couldn't help herself from thinking of how pale his skin was, and how his eyes stood out strikingly from the rest of his features. Then she realized that she was staring and broke contact, sweeping to the side to let him pass. "I'm sorry."

But he had already moved on. She watched him retreat, her shoulders dropping in relief. Just another Slytherin, she guessed. She turned around - and saw the boy again, directly in front of her as if he had appeared out of thin air.

She bit back a cry of surprise, but still something like a gasp escaped her. How could he be here, she thought, when she had just seen him leave?

But no, it wasn't him; it just looked like him. Or at least, somewhat like him. The boy in front of her had green eyes. And she didn't know how she knew, but his hair was a lighter shade of brown than the other boy's.

"I apologize for my brother," the boy in front of her said. Even their voices sound a bit alike, she thought. But this one spoke without the vicious edge to it. "He can't control his manners."

Rose swallowed, nervous. Twins. The two boys were twins. "I kind of saw that." She could suddenly feel her face reddening. _Now that was rude_, she thought regretfully.

"Don't take it personally," he smiled, showing a row of perfect white teeth. "I'm Chance, by the way. New Hogwarts student."

"New?" Rose squeaked. Usually new people came when they were eleven, not when they were sixteen and looked almost six feet tall.

"Yes, my brother and I transferred from a wizarding school in Australia." Chance stated.

So that was also why she had thought they talked the same.

"Do you mind if I accompany you to your compartment?"

Rose just caught the faint accent in his voice, the dialect that was almost the same as hers, but not quite.

She suddenly realized that he was waiting for an answer. "O-oh, yes, please." She stammered and jerked awkwardly around him.

His footsteps trailed hers as she walked through the rest of the compartments. She almost missed the right compartment, if Chance hadn't pointed it out.

Inside was a frantically waving Suzanna, who was almost impossible to miss. "Rose! What took you so-?"

Suzanna stopped. Rose was confused until she followed her line of vision, connecting it right to where Chance was. The expression on Suzanna's face was positively star struck.

Chance flashed her one of his 1000 watt smiles. "Hello."

Suzanna's mouth opened and closed a couple times, like a startled fish, before she managed. "Hey."

Rose refrained from the urge to roll her eyes. Honestly. She would have to have a little talk with her later.

Suzanna scooted over to make room for Chance. Rose took a spot beside Neville, who was sitting with Luna.

"Hello Rose," Luna said in her airy voice. She had on her spectrespecs, which made her eyes a whirlwind of colour. "There's a bunch of nargles in here. You must have let them in when you opened the door."

"Hey Luna," Rose answered, smiling slightly. "And yeah, I guess I must have."

Luna grinned and sat back, taking out a copy of the Quibbler.

"So you've just transferred?" Suzanna, meanwhile, was asking Chance. Rose listened intently.

"Yes, from Australia," Chance said. "But what I really don't understand is the sorting process here. How does it work?"

"The first years are sorted into four houses; Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin," Suzanna explained.

"Some say Slytherin is the worst," Luna piped in. "That every wizard that's sorted in their turns out bad. Evil."

Rose's heart froze, but Chance just laughed. "I'm sure." He shook his head, still smiling. "Let's hope I don't turn out in Slytherin, eh?"

Rose thought she could hear crickets in the compartment, it went that silent. Feeling uncomfortable, she asked as cheerfully as she could manage; "So are you and your brother twins?"

"Oh him?" Chance waved his hand in a non-chalant manner. "Yeah, we are. Most people are able to tell us apart though, so it really doesn't matter."

"I see," Rose said. She remembered how his brother's eyes had looked when he gazed at her in disgust, just for bumping into him. _Not really someone I want to involve myself with_, she thought.

"You have a twin?" Suzanna asked.

Chance nodded. "He doesn't really like me, to be honest. We're not as close as twins are."

They all mulled over that for a couple moments. Then the conversation carried on normally, of things about classes and homework and mundane, boring stuff.

Rose gazed out the window with dismay. Rolling hilltops passed in a blur, the swath of blue sky streaking past as well as the spidery forms of trees. She watched the sun trace a fiery path across the sky, while the compartment slowly began to grow silent.

When the bright orb finally disappeared underneath the horizon and darkness fell, they were finally there.

Hogwarts loomed up in front of them, a ghostly silhouette against the sky. Its turrets and towers looked almost as if they were crumbling, but Rose dismissed that as the starlight, oddly silver and always playing tricks on the eyes.

The train lurched to a sudden stop, and everybody stood up to get their luggage. Chance excused himself, stating that he had left his luggage with his brother in a different compartment. Rose watched him leave; and watched Suzanna gaze after him.

_Definitely going to have to talk to her later_.

The remainder of them dragged their trunks through the aisles of the train, and out into the night. The air was smoky and people bustled from either way; but even though it was crowded Rose could still pick out people that were missing; friends, acquaintances, faces that she had glanced at through the years that were no longer there. She saw a Hufflepuff, Hayley, and her older brother get off the train. Hayley's younger brother, who had tailed them ever since he had arrived last year, was nowhere to be seen. It made Rose's heart clench. She stopped counting the missing faces when she got to the Great Hall.

First years were lined up to go in the doors last. Rose could tell that something was going on now by the number of pale-faced eleven year olds; there was a considerably less amount then last year. She remembered the first years then, their faces glowing with the prospect of entering the magical school. Now though, they seemed to be wary and downright scared.

Rose drifted through the doors with everyone else and took a spot at the Gryffindor table with Suzanna and Neville. Ginny was already there, her face pinched tight with worry. She wondered why.

Then she noticed who was missing from the table; Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

There was a shuffling sound as everyone took their seats. Then Professor McGonagall came out with the sorting hat and placed it on the stool. There was a moment of silence before it burst in song, except Rose wasn't listening. She was watching the two twins that were standing with the first years, all gathered at the front of the hall. It looked a bit odd, with the two older and much taller boys towering over the shaking eleven year olds. Chance looked as composed as ever, his handsome face fixed on the sorting hat, drinking in its words.

And so was the other twin, his just as handsome face set in a cool and collected expression, a faint smirk on his face. But there was no doubt that he was processing the sorting hat's words as well.

Rose caught the last couple sentences of the sorting hat's song, and tried to understand it. She could tell that he was hinting danger subtly, even though everyone else knew of it. But maybe he meant it as a warning; be careful and be subtle. Just like her aunt had said.

Meanwhile, the sorting took barely any time at all. Student after nervous student was called up and one by one they were sorted. A few people in, and then…

"Carter Covault!"

The smirking twin stepped forwards and sat on the stool. The sorting hat was placed on his dark head and a moment passed by. In that moment, Rose saw something flash across his face. But before she could identify it, it was gone. She stared, afraid, for after that moment had passed the sorting hat rang out; "Slytherin!"

Rose dropped back into her seat, surprised that she had been leaning forwards. She watched as he lifted the hat off and dropped it unceremoniously back onto the stool, and take a seat at the far Slytherin table. _I'm not saying that I doubted he would be in Slytherin_, Rose thought as she watched the other twin walk up to the front. He sat down, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly as the hat descended upon him. _It's just that he'll probably end up a Death Eater like the rest of them. Ruthless. Cursed. _

_Evil. _

"Ravenclaw!"

Chance took his space at the Ravenclaw table. I heard a sigh issue from Suzanna beside me. She was staring at Chance, her shoulders drooping.

Rose's gaze wandered over to Chance as well. It wasn't hard to see that he belonged there. He had already struck up a chat with other sixth years, his eyes blazing with what seemed like victory.

Carter, on the other hand, looked imposing over in a sea of silver and green. His gray eyes surveyed the entire room, and soon his gaze came to rest on Rose. She looked away quickly.

When the sorting ended, the food was served. But Rose wasn't hungry. Instead, she was looking at the table of professors at the front of the hall. There were still a few familiar faces; McGonagall, Sprout, Flitwick and Slughorn were all there, including more new faces that she didn't know. A pair of professors on the right that looked like brother and sister, and were glaring mischievously down at the students as if they were pigs about to be sent to the slaughterhouse.

And then there was Snape, wrapped in a dark cloak, his curtain of black hair obscuring half of his face. He wasn't eating either, just staring at the Gryffindor table as if he was searching for something, his bottomless eyes narrowed slightly.

Rose swallowed and looked down at her own empty plate when she realized that Snape was sitting in Dumbledore's old spot.

"Eat something," Suzanna said, her fork halfway to her mouth.

Rose scowled but started to fill her plate. She knew it would look suspicious otherwise.

After desert had been served and the tables wiped clean, Snape stood up. "As you might have known, Professor Dumbledore has left us."

_Very blunt Snape. I love it_. Rose thought.

"Therefore, I have been appointed the new headmaster of Hogwarts."

All at once the hall burst into an uproar. Outrage flew through the hall, and with it came shock. Rose shifted down in her seat, trying to make her body as small as possible, struggling to keep her face expressionless.

"Silence!" Snape shouted. Instantly the hall fell silent. "I expect all of you to heed the same respect for me as you did for our late Headmaster.

Now since I am unable to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts this year, that position will be handed to the Carrows." His eyes flicked up to look at the brother and sister, whose eyes were gleaming almost madly.

"The school has taken on a new face this year. _Zero-tolerance _will be exercised, so I suggest you tread carefully."

He finished with a wave of his hand, and with that they were dismissed.

Rose sat stunned in her seat for a while. Millions of questions coursed through her mind. _How is Snape the new Headmaster? How far is zero-tolerance going to go? What's going to happen now? _

Shakily she got to her feet and followed everyone else out of the hall and up to the seventh floor. The Fat Lady looked solemn and distraught as she let the Gryffindors in.

The common room looked the same as last year, except darker. Colder. Rose gazed around and saw that the fire that was usually crackling in the grate was snuffed out, or as if a fire had never been lit there at all.

A while later she was up in the dormitory she shared with Suzanna, Ginny, Lavender, and Parvati. They all got changed silently, and then climbed into bed.

Rose lay in her own bed, staring at the ceiling while the steady breath of the four other girls sounded around her. But somehow, she couldn't fall asleep.

Her thoughts were full of darkness and shadows. She couldn't predict what this year would bring. Were they safe here? Would they ever be safe again, now that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was at large? The only thing she knew what that Hogwarts was no longer the sanctuary she thought it to be. Instead, it was the complete opposite.

A while later, or it might have been hours later, she felt herself drifting off into the oblivion of sleep. In the seconds before she was taken by the current, she saw the twin's face before her. Not Chance's, but Carter's. All sharp angles and pale skin, eyes cruel and cold, mouth set in a hard line. Glaring at her. But in the depths of them, she could see something glowing. Savageness, and something she had never seen in someone's eyes before.

Evil.


End file.
